At last…..

Paul,

Firstly thank you for all of the information that you have provided to us all.

I have always wanted to explore my fathers and wife’s grandfather’s hand tools and use them to make nice things. At 6’7″ tall no bought workbench will ever be comfortable. So I used my workmate, a sharpened #4 plane and made myself a proper workbench. For the legs and frame I have followed your plywood workbench tutorials, for the top I have used 3 layers of 18mm MDF with an 18mm plywood wellboard that extends for the whole dimensions of the top as well.
With my limited tools I have created a solid, firm workable workbench that now has a 9″ vise installed.
Due to cost constraints I used the cheapest 18mm WBP plywood I could find from a big store in the UK and with the MDF they were cut down to manageable pieces. These then cut further with a circular saw. the edges of the plywood show voids and have been filled. The top veneer is about 0.25mm thick, if that, so there is no margin for error and a light sand reveals the orange glue behind. In all though the lamination of the legs and cross pieces is very strong. The joints are as good as yours and having no chisels means I anm reliant on the plane and the saw, but I have a functioning Workbench.

So there are no excuses, if I can build this great bench on a shoestring budget, to a height that suits me, with the cheapest materials anyone can.

Cost was £90 for 1 x 18mm MDF, 2 x 18mm WBP Plywood, screws and glue. £93 for a real 9″ Eclipse quick release vise. For this you would be hard pushed to buy a cheap bench.

Time. It has taken me about 4 weeks of spare time and the odd day at the weekends.

Was it worth it. Absolutely! Things are so much easier when they are at your working height. From sharpening tools and using the plane. Great. Thanks again!

Jim